Rise of the Shadow
by hayatenox
Summary: Naruto was a shadow, never to be seen, never to be heard. All he knew was death and the life of an assassin, but what does he have when that ends, what else does he have? Can he start anew? Could he even be happy? Naruto/NightAngel xover.
1. Chapter 1

Rise of the Shadow

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Night Angel Trilogy, Kishimoto and Brent Weeks do, respectively.

**H**e was the perfect killer, the youngest of Konoha's elite assassin group, he was a Wetboy. A group of selective potential ninja who were trained from an early age to be masters at only one thing, to kill for the Hokage. At fifteen years of age, he was already the best, however -since he was the best- no one even knew. He was so talented with chakra, the things he could do astonished even the most proficient, and made them glad they weren't enemies of the Hokage. Every one who knew him also knew fear, and those who didn't at the very least, knew the rumors of an invincible shadow, he was called Durzo Blint.

**D**urzo had appeared next to his captain, a tall man whose hand has had more than it's fair share of blood. He was a man who truly believed in the wetboy motto, 'life is worthless'. He didn't have a name or at least no one knew it, Durzo, along with everyone else just called him 'Kira' and he was his master, his mentor, his teacher; there were many words he could call him but most of all, he was the man Durzo respected the most.

"Where is Iroh?" Kira asked. Even though he couldn't see his face under the hood, Durzo knew that his master had that ever present frown of his.

"I'm sure I have no idea Master." replied Durzo in his almost signature dry yet sarcastic tone "He's probably late again, you know how he is."

"We have a new mission for the Hokage, a difficult one..." and if Durzo didn't know better, he would think his master looked a bit nervous, but he knew that was impossible, because even though he was the best of the wetboys, Kira was the most experienced, and if something made him nervous, then that something was a threat to even him. "If he is going to be late for important work like this then he is of no use to me." That was a threat and that was also Iroh`s cue.

"Wait! Wait! Don't be so mean, I'm here! I'm here!" Iroh yelled in an outrageous frantic fashion."I wasn't late, I was just playing around! You know, right?" Was he drunk? High? A combination of the two? Durzo never could really tell with Iroh, but one thing he knew was that Iroh was a genius archer, the sniper of this three man team and his arrows could hit anything, if it wasn't a one hit kill, then the poisonous chakra he laced them with would finish the job.

"Whatever, let's go see what the Hokage wants" Durzo finally blurted out, quickly getting frustrated with the fool's antics, but before he could leave, Kira stopped him.

"Durzo, Iroh." he spoke in a sombre tone that quickly straightened the spines of both killers "I have a bad feeling about tonight, I have been briefly told what we are doing, and I don't like it. Our deader is a powerful man with many connections. Be careful, remember, when the mission starts, we won't be brothers or comrades, we'll be killers with the same goal. That being said." he salutes them with a fist over his heart and he recites the wetboy chant "To bathe in the blood of the worthless!" they salute him back and respond in a quiet whisper that barely overpowers the quiet night's wind "_Life_ is worthless"

**T**he Hokage waited for his assassins, and frankly, those three scared him. Any one of them has the potential to surpass even his predecessor the Yondaime, as ninja they would have been legends, but to have all that potential forcibly redirected in one direction, he knew they were the best killers ever bred into existence and it was his fault. He let Danzo talk him into continuing the living weapons program for the village and he regretted it every day since he first looked into the eyes of the youngest. 'But tonight it would all end!' he thought. He couldn't help but feel a little smug at the thought. He grew serious as soon as he saw a little movement in the shadows, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have seen it and then they would be dead.

Kira emerged from the shadow first and greeted his Hokage with a bow. Followed by Iroh who also bowed and then the young Durzo behind him, who didn't bow.

"Greetings Hokage. What is it you wish of us? Who is your deader?" Kira spoke up after stepping forward.

Sarutobi loved the fact that none of them ever added the -sama to his name, although he thought that was probably because they were so out of tune with the society around them. "Tonight..." he mentally cursed himself, this was no time to back down "I want you to take out Danzo." and although he couldn't see their eyes, he knew they were all wide in surprise.

"Hokage, you want us to kill a high council member of Konoha?" Durzo voiced the opinion of all three. Sarutobi almost visibly winced. 'Did he have to use the word "kill"? They have no sense of tact'

"Yes I am. I have no evidence of criminal actions from him, because if I did I would have sent ninjas and I would have made it publicly known." Durzo knew what that meant, this was to be swept under the rug, no one could ever know and if the Hokage was smart, he would have them killed afterward, and he probably would have if it weren't for the fact that Sarutobi grew soft after "that event" eight years ago.

"This scroll has all the information you'll need, you know what to do." Kira nodded and they all merged with the shadows. Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh, was he doing the right thing? He "failed" to tell them that Danzo knew they were coming and he had been expecting an assassination attempt for a while, but this was cruel. They were his most loyal soldiers and he was leading them to their death, he even had his most trusted seal tracker awaiting confirmation of their death. Regardless whether this was right or not, he knew Durzo would do his best to survive and if anyone could overcome impossible odds it was him. If Durzo survived, he would reward him, the time for wetboys has come to an end, that boy would do much better as a shinobi.

**D**urzo and his teammates were seated at a table in a cottage on the outskirts of fire country, one of their many safe-houses all over the elemental countries. Currently they were close to the boarder of Suna, which was right where they needed to be.

"Our deader will be here in one hour, on return from a diplomatic mission in Suna cementing Konoha's alliance with them. We are to kill him under the guise of an assassination team from Oto. His body is to remain recognized, that means no burning, _Durzo_, and we want to leave witnesses, so no long range sniping either _Iroh_" Kira said in a commanding tone, he then stood at his full height to finish the most important part of his briefing "I will be taking the deader at 'tree mark VII'" tree mark VII was one of the the many possible point of engagement Durzo and Kira had found in the forest, this one in particular had an out-stretching branch where a wetboy could emerge from the shadow to deal a quick death blow"Durzo will remain on standby in 'tree mark IX' as the back up and Iroh will be on hill II taking out any 'unknowns', the two bodyguards he has will be the only witnesses to be left alive." all three were ready to kill and be killed, it was the life of a wetboy, they weren't the first and they won't be the last... if only they knew.

**D**urzo was nervous, but he knew he shouldn't be. He had inhuman reflexes, was extremely fast, even when not boasted by chakra, he knew the human body inside out, knew where to hit and how. His only weakness was strength, at fifteen, he was 5'7" -which was pretty tall for his age- and he had already filled out his frame, not overly muscular but firm. However without augmenting himself with chakra, there was little he could do against a full grown adult who also knew how to use chakra. However, he was smart, he excelled in everything else that was related to killing, he knew how to mix the right herbs for poison and he could use his chakra for incredible things and he knew how to kill and enjoy it, killing was his life and that made him perfect. Yet here he was, moments from the biggest mission of his life, killing Danzo would be like killing a Kage, and he was nervous.

Danzo walked with the characteristic confidence of a man who thought he was destined to win, when he reached a clearing with a larger branch overhead, he instinctively knew this was it, 'If Sarutobi sent _them_ this would be the perfect spot' he signaled his Ne that had lagged behind and through their seals he felt them disappear.

**R**au was a sensor, he could even sense the Hokage when he was hiding his chakra, but in this situation he couldn't sense anything, were they fighting shadows? Unlikely, that would be ridiculous, Rau was currently far behind Danzo and his two bodyguards, he had no place with them nor should he be with the teams in hiding. He was just too weak, not enough chakra, with the amount he had he could be mistaken for a civilian.'This tree should provide enough cover during the ambush, no self-respecting sensor would want to be caught in the middle of a battle. Although I doubt there even is a battle, Dazno-sama is just too paranoid, no need to fight something that isn't there.' Rau didn't even have enough time to realize he was dead before an arrow pierced his skull and exited through the back.

**D**anzo knew if he didn't move fast he would die, a split second of hesitation would kill him, but he was powerful, years of war had honed him into a warrior and even without his arm, he could make the Professor himself sweat. Expecting the attack was nearly not enough, but he managed to dodge the pure black ninjato which he could only hear. The moment he dodged, his plan went into motion, Torune and Fu -his bodyguards- both disappeared, and a figure appeared from the shadows.

"You must be more skilled than I had thought If you managed to dodge Retribution's steel." the man spoke.

"And you must be Kira, a wetboy." Danzo replied with an eery smile.

"How do you know that?" asked Kira almost in a panic 'This man is too well informed, regardless of whether the Hokage wishes it or not he must die.'

"As a dead man, you shouldn't worry about that." Danzo disappeared in a shimmer replaced with three of his elite Ne

"An Ambush! Dammit!" the mission was falling apart, there were too many variables. How much did Danzo know? How many enemies? How many abilities? What rank were they? There was not enough time to adapt. 'Shut up and calm yourself, no ninja can stand against Retribution's blade and besides, I'm not alone.

The three Ne that appeared before Kira were skewered with arrows before they could move towards him. Then six more appeared, the battle had begun.

**D**urzo stayed hidden in the tree he had been originally assigned to, not daring to move a muscle. The show being played before him was a marvel to behold. His master was fast and powerful, but Durzo saw every movement, every twitch. Nothing escaped his eyes, although he almost laughed when he saw Master Kira pull the eyes out of a man with one senbon, one after the other, and then with the same senbon, put him out of his misery. These fools knew nothing, they probably haven't even realized that a wetboy was always in a team of three. All he was doing was waiting for an opening, and he knew it would come soon.

**K**ira moved in a rehearsed manner, 'Dodge left, kill right, duck, kill left.' this is what he lived for, and what he would die for. The Ne finally realized they couldn't win like this, a battle of attrition was useless, but they also realized that against this killer, they couldn't use their ninjutsu, or any chakra at all for that matter, 'They have finally realized that my main ability is using my own chakra to disrupt my enemies' chakra, a little late but better than never. Although there is a weakness... they're not stupid they must have noticed it by now' the Ne had started to back away, did they know some thing he didn't? Then he realized, the supporting fire coming from Iroh had stopped. He knew that could only mean one thing, he was a corpse. As a wetboy, he couldn't afford to mourn, but he would anyway, in his own style, by dealing out death before he died. He needed to give Durzo an opening at Danzo and he needed to do it now.

Two more Ne appeared before him, the ones who killed Iroh he supposed. They seemed different, they held more confidence than the others, they must be the elite of the elite. Danzo's disembodied voice was heard "Your partner is dead, your alone, just die in peace."

Kira, predictably answered by tightening his grip on Retribution. He welcomed death, with only one regret.

"Fu! Torune! Kill him." a simple order.

Half of the remaining Ne shinobi began getting ready their kunai to use as projectiles.

'So they figured it out, well, what is a better death? Going down in a hail of kunai or torched by the ninjutsu made famous by the Fire Country? Oh well'

All wetboys had the ability to use their chakra as an almost perfect defense if need be, Kira perfected it which is why even Durzo wouldn't be able to beat him, but what could he do against these numbers? Chakra could only be used for one thing at a time after all. Once he blocks the kunai, for one second, his defense will go down, but that one second would be enough, the Ne would be able to use their chakra and he would burn. Now the question is which way to go.

'What a stupid question. I already know the answer, 'a wetboy is never killed, only missing in action' shame I won't see the kid become great' with that in mind, he threw Retribution high in the air and touched a seal located on his chest where his heart lies.

**D**urzo knew what the explosion meant, his master was dead, the man he considered his father failed and it cost him his life. Iroh would soon join him, one hour after the heart stops beating the seal would activate. 'This is it. The last surviving team of Konoha's wetboys die trying to assassinate Danzo' suddenly a fury spread through his veins followed quickly by adrenaline. 'I can't let it end like this! I have to complete the mission, it's already cost too much.' Kira had opened a path for him and now he had to exploit it.

He spread his chakra throughout the battle field trying to assess what options he had, when he remembered something his master taught him "_A man who knows he is going to die is the most dangerous man of all."_ and now he was that man, he had nothing to lose, Danzo would die tonight. All he needed to do was get to him and that was easy, he was after all, a shadow. Durzo had envisioned the entire attack. Of course no plan ever stood after the first step, but this wasn't a plan, this was art.

Danzo couldn't hide his look of surprise when Durzo appeared before him and he had no time to stop the twisting chakra enhanced palm that hit his chest, next came a minor knuckle punch to the trachea, then a sharp kick to the Achilles heel followed by one to the base of the femur which had him on the ground out of breath and options. Using his chakra, he called his master's Retribution and it came to him. In his hand it felt natural, it's black blade barely visible in the night, it was the perfect ninjato. He didn't hesitate, it's blade found it's way through Danzo's back cutting through the spinal cord with a precision that only a wetboy can have. Danzo was now paralyzed, but Durzo wouldn't end it there, he began to pull the short sword towards him, slicing through the diaphragm, ribs and the lungs before lodging itself within his shoulder, and if that wasn't enough (which it was) Retribution was always poison laced.

All that happened in the span of seconds and still the Ne hadn't reacted, maybe they were shocked or maybe they were slow, either way nothing had changed, Durzo was still going to die. They started moving, he could react, he could fight back, but he didn't and he died, sliced to peaces by the many shinobi he'd just made master-less.

After the Ne had left, there was no one to notice that there was no explosion one hour later, there was no one to notice the red wisps of chakra bringing Durzo Blint back together.

AN: Hello! I'm obviously Hayatenox, and this is Rise of the Shadow, an idea that just wouldn't leave my head, and since the one hour and a half commute to college is a long time for something to eat away at you, I needed to get it out. Read _The Night Angel Trilogy_, it's really good, although I myself am not done yet, I think Brent Weeks is a genius in the way he sets everything up. On another note, has anyone read _Dracula The Undead _by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt? It's a legitimate sequel to the original and it's now my favorite book of all time. If you thought the original story wasn't done, then this could be your favorite book too. Dracula rules! If you have to criticize, then be constructive, I'm doing this to improve my writing to the point were I'll eventually be able to write a novel, but I don't know my strengths or weaknesses yet, oh well. Before anyone askes, yes, certain assassins are called "wetboys" in the books.


	2. Chapter 2

Rise of the Shadow

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Night Angel Trilogy, Kishimoto and Brent Weeks do, respectively.

_Just recently, their third member had been given a suicide mission, but they knew he would survive. However, even if he did survive, he would have to exile himself and be labeled as a missing nin. Due to the circumstances behind the mission, neither Kira nor Iroh could help him. There was no hope for Ulos, and they would never even know his true name._

_'Although, that's usually how it is as a wetboy.' Kira thought._

_The Hokage had just arrived with their new teammate. Both Kira and Iroh stood to greet him, but before they could speak, they noticed a child, no more than eight standing beside the Hokage. They couldn't see his face because it was covered by the shadows created by the signature wetboy hood he wore. Nothing much could be seen from his initial appearance but that was a good thing._

"_This is... Durzo, Durzo Blint." the Hokage spoke, ignoring the boy's questioning glare. "He is the last remaining wetboy candidate, and I'm not stretching when I say he is a genius."_

"_Oh? A genius you say? Do you think he'll surpass even good ol' reliable here?" Iroh gestured towards Kira._

"_Well, that all depends on Kira himself, can you tap into this boy's potential?" Kira's eyes would have widened if he wasn't so cool."You want me to train him? Can he even handle it?"_

"_Of course he can." The Hokage was a little evasive in his answer and Kira could tell, but it was Iroh who called him out "That's not what Kira meant, and you know it" Dumb ass._

"_The boy is mentally prepared for what is to come, he is ready, I know you're a little hesitant to take one so young after **him**, but are you really here to question my choices?"_

"_I do have ears you know." Durzo finally spoke up."Of course Durzo buddy, everyone has ears." and right away, Durzo knew he hated Iroh._

"_Durzo, this is Kira, he will teach you how to be a wetboy and-" Sarutobi was interrupted "You mean he will teach me how to kill." perceptive brat._

"_Well, anyway... Treat him with the same respect you would have for me." none "He is the best wetboy there is, you're in good hands." bloody hands_

_At this time, Durzo took a closer look at both men. If he had to guess, Kira was in his late 30s (which was old for a wetboy) and he looked to be about 5'9" with a solid build, 'He could probably crush my skull in his hand.' Iroh on the other hand, was taller, maybe 6'2" and around his late 20s, with a lanky body, he was probably a poison specialist or long range, maybe both. He could see neither face, but he could imagine the expressions on them. Kira was serious, frown always in place, eye-brows tensed, eyes showing disinterest and contempt. Iroh had a goofy smile, eyes up turned in happiness, face looking completely innocent, but Durzo knew better._

"_I leave him in your hands Kira, don't let me down." The Hokage left._

"_Well kid, every one calls me Kira. I'm going to teach you how to kill." he presented his hand to shake_

"_My name is Durzo, I guess. I'll take your teachings and surpass them"_

_Master and Apprentice shook hands and a bond was formed_

**D**urzo opened his eyes slightly, never in a panic, just like his master taught him. He looked around slowly and relaxed when he realized he was in a special hospital room commissioned by the Hokage just for wetboys. 'I hate hospitals.'

Suddenly, the Sandaime Hokage walked in alone. "Durzo, I would like to talk with you." he sounded serious.

"Your team is dead, you are the last remaining wetboy alive." what was he getting at?

"What is it you want Hokage?"

"Please don't call me that. Can't you call me 'old man' like you used to? Naruto?" He crossed the line.

"Don't call me that!!" Durzo yelled "My name is Durzo."

"Please stop this, I want you to be a shinobi, please Naruto." Sarutobi pleaded, his eyes showing a great sadness.

"Naruto is dead, he was useless! While he was weak, Durzo is strong, a coward compared to the most feared shadow, Naruto is nothing! Durzo is every thing! I don't want to go back!!" He was cracking, the picture of the perfect facade for a killer was turning into a child who had no childhood, and he felt something he hadn't felt in almost a decade, fear.

"Naruto! That is enough!" Now wasn't the time to be weak, he had to be firm in his command, aggressive and assertive. "You will be a shinobi, you will be the best and one day, you will become hokage." This made Durzo look up, eyes narrowed, composure restored, "What?!"

"I want you to surpass me and I want you to take my position." He spoke with conviction "But I'm not giving you a choice in the matter."

"You're forcing the position on me? Is that even possible?"

"No, but I am the Hokage, I have many connections. Naruto, I'm doing what's best for you... and Konoha."

"I'm a killer, raised only for one purpose. With me at the helm, Konoha will have the leader that Danzo always wanted, is that what is best for Konoha?" Durzo asked.

"Yes, I believe in you." bullshit

"I will take an aggressive defensive stance, 'kill your enemies before they kill you' as Master Kira taught me, Hokage, is that what you want for your village?" of course not

"W-Well, you wouldn't take the position until you're older, and by then I'm hoping to deal with all our enemies." Sarutobi faltered for less than a second, but that was enough for Durzo.

"Does this have something to do with me? He asked

"Yes, they call themselves Akatsuki and they are hunting down the 'containers'." he replied

"Do you want me to kill them?." It wasn't meant to be a question

"I intend to put together a team to specialize in dealing with the Akatsuki, and I want you to lead that team, not as Durzo Blint, but as Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage."

"You want me to lead them?" Durzo asked in surprise

"Yes, but it has to be as a shinobi." Sarutobi wasn't expecting much resistance, but Durzo wasn't going to let himself be pushed.

"No! I'll be Naruto again if I have too, but I won't give up my life, I'll be a wetboy until I die, when I become Hokage, I'll train a new generation, I won't let it end here." Durzo wasn't allowed to show grief for his fallen comrades, but he wouldn't let their memory die like that.

"Hm, I guess I'll take what I can, as long as you stop calling your self Durzo. I'll let you rest for now." Sarutobi started leaving the room. "Naruto, what is the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is being stabbed by the remaining enemies, I guess I survived somehow." Durzo said, somewhat confused.

"Yes...survived." Sarutobi muttered cryptically before walking out, Leaving Durzo to his own thoughts.

"I need to sleep, tomorrow I will become Naruto again."

**W**hen Naruto woke up, it was already mid day, the sun shone brightly in his face and he hated it, it was too bright, just like his hair. He got up from the hospital bed, and got dressed in his wetboy's grays,

which consisted of gray pants with equally gray upper wear. The wetboys like to call their uniform the shozoko, and there was no defense involved with it, no chain mesh. To a wetboy, the first strike against you meant you failed the mission and deserved to die. A wetboy was a weapon not a shield. A little chakra would be used to help the hood's shadow cover the entire face, with gloves on his hands and wetboy tabi on his feet, there was not a bit of skin showing, just how it should be. The shozoko also had many pockets which served to hold multiple daggers and kits of mixed poisons, the only visible weapon would be a ninjato on his back, but it was missing.

That's when he saw it; on the shelf to his left was a pure black ninjato, The Retribution. Kira's blade was magnificent, the perfect sword for assassinations. He lifted it up in his left hand and stared as if in a trance, 'I have a feeling that one day, this sword will cause trouble for me.' he finally snapped out of it and sheathed it over his left shoulder.

"Time to go see the old man."

**G**athered in the Hokage's office were three Anbu. One, the captain of his personal guard, Yamato, a man whose life was changed because of Orochimaru. The second was Yugao Uzuki, one of Konoha's Swordmasters, and the last was Anko Mitarashi, the assassination squad's leader and former apprentice to Orochimaru.

Then the last member walked in and stood beside Anko ignoring her stare. "Is this guy trying to be funny? What kind of ninja dresses like that?" Naruto turned his head to her and she could only assume he was glaring at her. "Not a ninja." he replied, then he looked away completely disregarding her presence despite her loud yells of indignity.

"Good, you're all here. You four have been selected for an infiltration mission, into Akatsuki." the Hokage glanced at each of their eyes despite the fact that he couldn't see them.

Three of them stiffened right away, Naruto didn't.

"I would like this to be a team with no facades, please remove your masks," Sarutobi spoke in a soft tone, not forceful yet not pleading either.

Yamato was first, removing his mask to show his pale white skin, a side effect of the experimentation done on him. Yugao followed suit; behind her mask was a beautiful face, yet she held the eyes of a warrior, the likes of which Naruto had never seen in a woman before. Maybe this was a ninja worthy of his respect. Anko was next, her face was also a beauty in it's own way, but where her companion's eyes were a warrior's, her's were that of a crazed killer, perhaps the closest one to himself, but that didn't mean he held her above contempt, a wetboy must never lose himself in the art of killing, and this ninja clearly had.

Finally, it was Naruto's turn, a moment he dreaded. To give up your identity was like giving up your life. You were a target, habits could be researched, friends could be threatened, abilities compromised. Could he trust these people?

Naruto released the chakra holding the shadow to his face, and his hands pulled back his hood, and as soon as he did, he heard three distinct gasps in the room.

Yamato thought this boy looked a lot like the late Yondaime, Yugao was frightened by the look in his eyes and Anko thought it was love at first sight.

"Enjoying yourselves?" asked Naruto, one eyebrow raised.

"YE-" "Shut up!" Yugao elbowed Anko in the ribs.

"These three know each other well enough, how about you introduce yourself to them?" Sarutobi asked, trying to push Naruto to open up.

"My name is Durzo-" coughcough "Fine, fine. My _name _is Naruto Uzumaki, I like to kill, I hate to fail,

my dream..." he glances at the Hokage "Is to bring back the wetboys."

"Ha!! Funny kid! Funny kid! The wetboys are just rumors, you know, 'if you stay out late at night the wetboys will get you' come on kid, grow up."

"Oh, I assure you Anko, the wetboys are no mere rumors." Naruto's stare unnerved Anko

"He's right you know." every one stopped to listen to the Hokage, even Naruto was surprised he would bring it up. "And Naruto-kun here is the last remaining one. That is why he will be the captain of this team." let chaos ensue.

"WHAT?!" Anko yelled far too loudly for Naruto's comfort "How can a brat like him lead a mission like this?" Even Yugao looked ready to protest. "I should lead, besides I have the most experience here when it comes to killing."

"Oh yes Mistress Anko, this 'brat' would love to serve under you." Naruto gave a mocking bow. "Tch! Hardly. Anko, weren't you paying attention, I'm a wetboy. I'm a killer among killers. I have more blood on my hands than even the Hokage. I'm leading this team, if you want to complain, then show me you're worth listening to, make me bleed."

**A**t the Hokage's personal training ground, the two killers stood metres apart, both tensed in a practiced stance, ready to engage each other. No jutsus, no death.

Anko wanted to put the brat in his place and this was the perfect way to do it. 'No matter how good looking he is, I'm not going to go easy on him. 'Make me bleed.' I'll do more than that, brat.'

Naruto didn't like fighting out in the open, but he could, and he could do it well. He would show this woman what he could do.

Anko made the first move, they would start with taijutsu. She sped towards him with the full speed of a jonin, intent on getting blood on the first attempt with a kunai to the cheek. She wasn't expecting him to grab her wrist and twist. She found her self on the ground in immense pain. She looked and realized he still hadn't let go of her wrist.

"You know, in the human body, the bones between the radius, ulna, and metacarpus are very sensitive, so if you grab the wrist in the right way, even the slightest bit of pressure can do a lot." Naruto spoke in a very condescending tone

"I'm not a child Dammit!" she was really starting to hate this guy "Don't lecture me!"

"Then prove to me you're not a child" still condescending

"I'm 28 dammit!" she charged back at him, this time hoping to smash his head with a kick. An effort which he made useless pretty quickly.

"Have you been taught anything? Never kick a skilled opponent above the knee, it's just too slow."

He didn't sound arrogant, this time he sounded incredulous, which, to Anko felt even worse.

Naruto began his attack. A flurry of punches, all of which hit their target. Anko winced in pain, she knew they would bruise but there would be no real damage. With speed she could barely track, Naruto moved into an opening to her left and his knee made it's way right below her rib cage knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the other side of the training grounds.

Letting her get up, Naruto could only stare in pity. Why was she so weak? As much as he hated the hypocrisy of ninja in general, he couldn't deny that they were strong, even if they only killed when necessary. Seeing that she wanted to continue he decided that he would end this now, by crushing any doubts that he was the strongest.

Using all the speed he had, he moved beside her; with his left hand he grabbed her wrist and turned her towards him. His right hand was raised up, open palm, looking like it was ready to slap her. It came down with impressive speed, but before it reached her, a swirling orb of pure chakra appeared in the palm's center. Surely their former Hokage's prized jutsu would make them realize that he was the only one who could lead this mission.

Sarutobi knew Jiraiya taught the boy the Rasengan, but he had never seen him use it, 'I thought he hated ninja techniques?' and even the fourth couldn't make the Rasengan appear that fast, although it did make sense if Naruto planned to use it for assassinations. However, he did know the destructive power behind it, and he knew it could kill Anko. Yet at this distance, and at the speed his hand was going, he knew he couldn't make it there in time. He would have to trust that Naruto knew what he was doing.

With his left hand, Naruto manipulated her body by twisting her arm into a position where her torso would follow and his Rasengan would miss. He couldn't help but feel proud of his handiwork; on the ground where his attack landed, there was a crater with a three foot diameter, which was larger than what the old fool had shown with his demonstration during their time together. He felt that Anko had been sufficiently 'tamed' so to speak and he let her go, giving her a little push towards the Hokage.

"I hope there won't be anymore attempts to undermine my authority." he received three equally frantic head shakes. "Well then Hokage, now that we're finished here, why don't we go get briefed?"

**W**etboys never used the word "target". No one knew who came up with "deader" but all wetboys agreed that it was better, because calling something a target meant that there was a chance you could miss. Let the ninjas miss, wetboys only kill.

"Even though you're a four man team, the only one actually infiltrating will be Naruto-kun." Sarutobi said "You three will be the runners. All information he receives will get to me through you." The three Anbu knew they had the easy job.

"How will this get done? Do you have all the stages set?" Naruto needed to know all the stages, he liked to know the plan entirely before risking his life.

"You need to impersonate an Akastuki member, but for that you'll need to take him out first."

"What is the deader's name?" Anko snorted at that word.

"He is a lower member of Akatsuki, I'm sure no one would even notice his death, so I don't think you'll need to perfect his mannerisms. Our sources say he is a subordinate of Zetsu, travels alone, and is around A class in strength, although that is just an estimate. His name is Tobi."

AN: I spent quite a while trying to figure out how to get Naruto into the Night angel world, and I think I finally have a viable solution, but it will take more reading and some tweaking on the night angel side. Anyway, it'll take a couple chapters, maybe. I just finished Shadow's Edge and I think it ended perfectly, more than enough incentive to buy the third book. Like I said, Naruto will be going to Midcyru in a couple chapters, and I hope that won't make me rush through the Konoha chapters, I really want to get past them. Review! Later.


	3. Chapter 3

Rise of the Shadows

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Night Angel Trilogy, Kishimoto and Brent Weeks do, respectively.

**T**obi, had proven to be a harder man to find than anyone had initially thought. When they did find him, the way he acted was enough for them to write him off as a easy kill.

The only thing that was holding them back was the fact that Naruto practically forced them to wait so he could memorize Tobi`s personality and habits.

Of course, the rest of the team just wanted to get this mission over with. Anko specifically, was frustrated with the way Naruto took his time with what should have been a simple job. She found herself waiting impatiently, hidden in the back of a wagon filled with a variety of blankets. She decided to take out her frustrations on her driver.

"Do you _need_ to do this?" Anko refused to wait for the kill any longer.

"Assassination is a meticulous thing, even more so when you're going to impersonate the man. You have to watch every move, copy every stance, even the way he breathes, you need to know what he's feeling, and be able to replicate those feelings." Naruto spoke quietly while keeping his senses trained on Tobi's predicted route.

He forget to keep his voice dispassionate.

"Huh? Was that passion I heard in your voice? Ha!" Anko managed to come off as obnoxious even when speaking in a whisper.

"No, not at all. Now shut up, he's coming this way."

Tobi strutted down the path, singing an upbeat song, looking as if he had not a care in the world. His left eye lost behind his swirled orange mask.

"dada du dada du dada du It's just a old war, not even a cold war..."

Naruto's eye twitched when he remembered that Tobi was annoying. 'why do I always find myself surrounded by people like this? I hate it.'

Yamato was in position to the left of a path in a tree, Yugao was to the right, directly opposite of him. Further behind, Anko was waiting inside the blankets. Naruto sat in the driver's seat in disguise as a regular merchant. It was all standard assassination fare.

As Tobi passed, he glanced into the wagon beside him and stopped singing. "Oh? Do you sell nice warm blankets?" He asked.

'Time to play along.' "Yeah, good prices too, even if I do say so myself." As soon as Tobi leaned slightly forward to inspect the wares, Naruto knew he would be able to get Tobi to follow him into the path they had selected.

"Why don't we go to my shop, some of the best merchandise in all the elemental countries at the best prices. After all, why would I carry my best stuff with me?"

"OKAY! Onward my good merchant, to your glorious warm blankets!!" Tobi was certainly enthusiastic.

Naruto estimated it would be a least three minutes until they reached they designated spot.

**Y**ugao wiped of some sweat that had accumulated on her brow before putting her neko mask back on. She was high in a tree, with a genjutsu covering her.

Something about this mission excited her; maybe it was the way Naruto did things. Never before had she been in an assassination mission that went like this. Every one she had taken part in before was get in, kill, then get out. Naruto on the other hand liked to have every thing planned out; he wanted all aspects of the target 'Or deader as he likes to call them.' to be known, he liked every route planned out, and he liked to meet his target face to face. 'To me it seems that he likes to savor the hunt, kind of like a predator.'

She started to listen for the sound of crickets. It was getting late, so they wouldn't be so unusual, but she was listening for a particular pattern. 'There it is, Yamato's signal.' Naruto was leading Tobi to them.

Both Anbu heard annoyingly boisterous talking. It had to be Tobi.

"Hey, Hey, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't say anything to begin with."

"_Oh_! You're so smart! So, what is your name anyway?"

"Mir, is my name, selling blankets to make me tame." Naruto laughed inwardly at his own joke.

"Huh? The Ripley Scroll? I get it, you're funny!!"

'He actually got that? Something is wrong, he's smarter than he lets on. Could I have been fooled?'

"Well, anyway, we're here." Naruto stopped the horse, got up and dusted himself off.

"Here? Where's here? This is no where." That's the point. 'Die.'

Anko made her move. **"Senai Jashuu**!" Instantly snake summons came from her sleeve and wrapped them selves around Tobi, after that was Yamato`s turn."**Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō**!" A tree appeared and encased it's target. Yugao would be the one to finish it; she appeared in front of the imprisoned Tobi and drew her sword. With slashes faster than even most jonin could track, she cut the tree trunk, through and through, until they were positive Tobi was dead.

"Yeah, you see that bastard? We didn't even need you." Anko had the nerve to cheer in his ear.

However, before Naruto had the chance to rebut he saw Tobi appear beside Anko, and before he could move to intercept, Tobi gave Anko a back handed fist that sent her far into the forest.

"Now, now, Mir-kun." he said, wagging his finger. "Was this suppose to be an assassination attempt?"

Naruto ripped of his disguise, Retribution in hand, Naruto charged at Tobi, intent on separating his vertebra at the base, rendering him paralyzed for life. He would have, if Tobi didn't dodge like it was

nothing.

Yamato then charged at Tobi, trying to drive him towards Yugao to give her a chance to run him through. A punch to his head, kick to the shin, stab to the heart. All was done in an attempt to move him back, no attack actually meant to hit it's mark, but that didn't stop Yamato from realizing that this man far out classed any of them.

Yugao, having caught on to what Yamato was trying to do, just sat back and waited for an opening. After watching Yamato continue to manipulate Tobi in a favorable area, she began to wonder why their reports were so wrong. Tobi was far superior to an A class ninja; he moved with ease and speed, he trashed a jonin like Anko as if she were nothing, and even more telling was the confidence he fought with. He was fighting with three powerful ninja, yet he fought was no sense of caution or urgency.

Finally, Tobi was pushed back into a position where he was in between Yugao and Yamato, in a place surrounded by trees, Naruto could be in any one of them. There was no escape For Tobi.

Yugao dashed towards Tobi, blade first. When she saw the tip enter his body, she could help but feel elated, but then she realized that she was getting no resistance from his flesh. Something went wrong, and what ever it was, could cost Yamato his life. On the other side of Tobi, out of Yugao's vision, Yamato stood, still distracting Tobi. With no wall of flesh to stop her blade, Yamato would be on the receiving end of her blade. The momentum was just too much to stop.

Yamato felt the sword enter mercifully below the right clavicle, it was a minor wound that missed any important muscles, but it still hurt like hell.

Yugao couldn't hold back her surprise when the 'illusion' grabbed her hand, wretched her katana out of it, and slammed her into the ground. She could barely hold onto her consciousness, but even that wouldn't stay, she could feel herself drifting away slowly.

Yamato began to back away, for a chance to regain his bearings. Before he could even get five feet away, the 'illusion' struck his palm at the katata's hilt, forcing it deeper into the wound. This time, Yamato could feel some muscle tissue tear. His right arm would be useless. He jumped back and landed crouched a few meters away from Tobi

Tobi started to move toward him, and Yamato knew he would die. Anko was out of commission, Yugao was out cold and Naruto was missing. There was no hope. However, something happened before he could be reached.

Even Tobi was surprised when tendrils of red chakra wrapped themselves around him like hands; he couldn't move. Naruto appeared before him bathed in a red cloak of chakra, sans any tails.

"How did you do that, Naruto?" Tobi asked.

"Magic. Now, how do you know my name?" He made the chakra tighten around Tobi.

"It's your chakra, very unique." He didn't sound nervous at all, and that put Naruto on edge.

"Who are you? You can't be some Akatsuki nobody named Tobi."

"Why should I tell you? We all need to keep our facades." This personality pissed him off too.

"Because if you don't, I'll rip that mask off your face!" Obviously, he was getting impatient.

"Okay! Okay! I'll give you my name." He sounded amused.

"... Well? What is it?"

"Madara."

All of a sudden, the red chakra was absorbed into Madara and it seemed to empower him. Faster than even Naruto could see, Madara charged him. A fist to the head forced him to defend, and from that moment on, Naruto was completely outclassed.

Madara didn't use any weapons, only his fists, but those fists could do a lot of damage, as Anko could probably attest to. His speed at first, wasn't too impressive, just average for an A class nin, but after he absorbed Kyuubi's chakra, he became much faster, maybe even beyond S class. However, neither of those were the main reason Naruto was being beaten so easily. Madara fought like someone who had an unimaginable amount of experience. To him, this was just another fight he would emerge from Victorious.

Naruto jumped back as far away as he could; he needed to buy a little time so he could release the seals limiting his Kyuubi chakra. He bit his thumb, lifted up his shirt and started removing the seals Jiraiya had put on him when he was younger. Nine different seals, one per tail. Judging by Madara's speed and power, he was about an upper S-class shinobi, and that warranted a release of the first four tails. One at a time, tails started sprouting from the chakra cloak, then two ears. Naruto's skin started to burn away and his blood stained the translucent chakra a solid red. He looked like a miniature Kyuubi, but though out all this, he kept his consciousness.

When Madara reached Naruto, he was greeted by a loud roar and a red claw slashing at him, a claw which he could barely dodge.

"Naruto, have lost your self to your beast already?" Madara asked mockingly

"**No. Under normal circumstances, I hate using this chakra. It makes me feel weak. I hate knowing I have a tool that I'm not in full control of.**" Naruto replied.

"You're still under control? That's surprising. Well, here I come."

Madara charged Naruto again, only this time, two arms of red chakra grabbed him then threw him before he had the chance to absorb the chakra.

Madara crashed into a tree, and before he could recover, Naruto dashed at him, grabbing him by the collar, throwing him in the air, Naruto jumped up, grabbed his feet and launched him at the ground.

Madara landed with a loud 'thump' and lots of broken bones.

"**That took far too long, and it was far too flashy for my tastes. Oh well, time to burn the body.**"

As Naruto walked closer he noticed the body was twitching.

"**He's **_**still **_**alive? This guy's a monster.**"

Twitch. Twitch. Naruto then heard the sound of broken bones snapping into place. Madara then amazingly stood up and brushed himself off. '**Is this guy immortal**?'

"Whoa! It's been a while since I've been killed, I got a little careless. It's time we end this game. Naruto Uzumaki, container of the Kyuubi, please come with me." It was clear Madara had finished playing around.

"**I heard Akatsuki was collecting the Biju, but why?**" He needed to stall, he didn't know why, maybe it was his survival instincts telling him to run, or maybe it was some sort of precognition telling him something was going to happen.

"Why should I tell you my plans?"

"_**Your**_ **plans?**" Was he something more than just an Akatsuki member?

"Whoops!...Oh well, you can't win anyway." He spoke in a cheery voice. "My name is Madara Uchiha." Naruto's eyes blinked in confusion, although they couldn't be seen through the blood stained chakra cloak.

"**Who?**"

"What? You don't know me? One of the founding fathers of Konoha, turned enemy, then dueled the first Hokage at the Valley of End?... Nothing? Wow, youth today."

"**Who you are doesn't matter to me, what I'm interested is how you recovered from that attack.**"

If he could get away, then maybe, with better information, someday he could come back to fight on even grounds.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto." Madara wagged his finger, seemingly imitating his Tobi persona. "The reason for my 'immortality' is the potency of my chakra. Don't you understand? You're the exact same as me, extracting the kyuubi won't kill you, so why don't you come with me? Together we could make Akatsuki the highest power in the world!!" This guy's a nut case.

Naruto was about to take initiative and attack, but before he could, an abyss of pure black 'chakra' appeared in a circle surrounding his feet. Not even Madara could act. The 'chakra' formed hands and grabbed Naruto trying to pull him deeper. He subconsciously noted that the 'chakra' felt similar to his Kyuubi chakra. He fought as much as he could, even Madara helped (probably because he was needed alive.) but in the end the abyss won, he was fully submerged in it, all hope lost when the 'chakra' vanished, leaving behind an angry Madara standing, shocked, in an empty battle ground.

Yamato was the only witness, and he took Madara's shock as his opportunity. First he gathered Anko and Yugao,then preformed a strained shushin as far away as possible. He had to reach a Konoha outpost to warn them of Madara Uchiha.

**W**hen Naruto regained consciousness, he realized two things right away. One, was that he was still in his Kyuubi cloak and it was as if some outside source was feeding it's power even further. Two, was that he couldn't move.

He opened his eyes and looked around. It looked as if he was in a cage made for an animal, a big animal.

"Hello monster, I need you to do some things for me." Someone spoke, clearly the one who brought him here.

Naruto lowered the Kyuubi cloak, allowing the chakra to recede back into the seal. Oddly enough, he felt even more refreshed when that happened, It felt as if the air itself was giving him energy.

"Oh? A human? Well, that doesn't matter, you clearly have the power to do what I want, and now you have the intelligence as well." Naruto still couldn't move, so a good look at the man was impossible. "My name is Ezra, some people call me Ezra the Mad. I summoned you here to kill something called the Dark Hunter." What is the Dark Hunter?

"You're probably asking yourself, 'What is the Dark Hunter?' Well, it is a creature I created recently, incredibly powerful, maybe too powerful. I fear for my safety every day. There's a chance the creature will betray me. Kill it and I will release you from your bonds."

Bonds? Naruto managed to turn his head down sightly, there he saw his body was covered in foreign looking seals. His eyes widened.

"I see you realize your situation." Ezra spoke with severity.

Naruto could only nod slightly.

Kira was wrong; Life isn't worthless, life just sucks.

AN: Next chapter will be up when I finish Beyond the Shadows, need more info. Later.


	4. Chapter 4

Rise of the Shadow

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't either of them.

**I**t's been about a week since Naruto found himself in this new world and before he could complete anything for the man named Ezra, in a fashion befitting his background, he went Intel hunting.

The land was called Midcyru, and it was a land at war. Two sides divided; one was the Empire of Midcyru lead by it's High King Jorsin Alkestes, the other was the newly formed Kingdom under the self proclaimed 'Godking' Roygaris Ursuul, A man who has seized the opportunity to claim a new power for himself.

That was an important fact for Naruto, because once he knew there would be fighting, he needed to learn how the people of this world killed.

There were two powers of note; one was 'Talent', which Ezra explained, was something everyone had but not all could use. 'Like Chakra.'. It certainly felt very similar to his own blue chakra, not as dense, but it could probably be used for the same purposes.

Those who used Talent were called the Magi or Magae, depending on gender, and the way they used their 'Magic' struck Naruto as very similar.

A Red Mage specialized in offensive magic, the most common spell being a fire ball, a crude, almost primitive version of the Katon jutsu. The Red Mage, overall, didn't impress. From what Naruto saw, they were physically weak and their attacks drained their Talent quickly. Individually useless, as a group, an annoyance at best. However, when paired with the next type of mage, their usefulness became clear.

A Green Mage, specialists in healing, have the best control over their talent, using just the right amount to heal what was intended, they also have the ability to refuel a person's Talent to a limited extent. On the battle field, these were the key; kill them and the army falls. Naruto compared these to the medic nins he had seen from the elemental countries, although not nearly as strong.

The last was the Green Mage, masters of creation, but that was hardly an appropriate title. More than anything, they are masters of sealing. They create magical weapons by sealing a portion of their magic into the weapon, the power of the enhanced weapons are then judged based on the amount of magic embedded into them and the quality of the weapon itself, some were so powerful they were considered magical artifacts.

The second power is the one that caused Roygaris Ursuul to break away from the united kingdoms under the High King. It is called Vir, and above all, it reminded Naruto of his Kyuubi chakra, As Ezra

explained, Vir is deadly to humans, it's power draws directly from the body and after several uses, the body begins to be taken over. "Vir is like a parasite." he had described. Few could use it and even fewer would. Vir had only recently been discovered and it's power hasn't been well recorded yet, but it is assumed that even an amateur in the use of magic could take down a well trained mage with the use of Vir. Currently, the only ones who will use their Vir, are the mages willing to die under the command of Roygaris Ursuul.

The regular soldiers were just odd to Naruto; they have no Talent, but are all well trained in the use of weapons and tactics. In the elemental countries, as far as Naruto knew, if you had no chakra, combat had no place in your future. Even odder, are the weapons and armor they use; the swords are large, bulky and slow, made for cutting through armor and crushing bones rather than slicing through like a katana or ninjato. A killing blow was more likely to come from internal bleeding rather than an accurate cut, but that was in the hands of regular soldiers. Masters could surely do more. Their armor was effective for the kind of battles that Ezra had described but they were still useless in Naruto's opinion, because after all, Wetboys don't believe in defense.

Ezra asked him to kill a creature called the Dark Hunter, yet he wouldn't voluntarily reveal anything to him. Supposedly, from what he managed to understand from Ezra's notes, this creature was created by mixing Ezra's own Talent with an artifact that Ezra named the Ka'kari. The result was a creature who stood on it's hind legs, it's tail used for stability, it's two claws backed up with powerful arms, it's head resembled a dragon and it's eyes, a wolf. Immune to Talent, only the physically strong could stand against it, but it was created with the strength of forty men and the speed to run circles around an army in seconds. No one could match it.

Naruto was still unsatisfied with the information he had managed to get in a week. He needed to know more. As of now, he was still at a disadvantage. However, what he could do coped up in Ezra's labs beneath the High castle was limited. Added to that, were the seals placed on him. Ezra said they were a precaution; most were compulsion spells, seven in total. One for Ezra and the other six for the people he trusted most. Naruto had yet to meet them. At first, he didn't know what a compulsion spell was, but from the name, he could hazard a guess. The spell forced the victim into total obedience. Initially, he hated being chained like that, but after, he realized that it was no different from before. He was a killer and he never had a choice in that. Another seal, was a language spell, allowing him to speak and

understand the local tongue.

"Naruto! I would like you to meet someone." Ezra came down the stair case leading to his labs. He had a big grin on his face.

"This is Trace, a close friend of mine."

Behind Ezra was a woman, a little taller than Naruto, but shorter than Ezra. She was an average looking woman, beautiful in a plain way. She wore the robes that identified her as a Maja, she walked with confidence and power. Naruto could feel her Talent, she had more than Ezra, but it was unrefined making her less formidable. Any respect he would've had for her went down the drain after she introduced her self.

"Is this him Ezra? Well then, I am Trace, the High King's Mage General, bow for me."

Try as he might Naruto couldn't stop his body from getting on one knee and bowing his head before her, it was humiliating, This woman was the first person he has ever bowed before, not even the hokage could force him to. He didn't know why he hated it, maybe it was a way to keep his humanity or his independence, which was odd because he accepted his role as a tool without hesitation.

"Ha! That's a pretty odd bow, I like it. Kid, you certainly know how to make a woman feel like a queen.

Come on get up, I was just joking." Cruel joke bitch. "Introduce yourself." Another command.

"My Name is Naruto Uzumaki." He replied in a monotone voice.

"Uzumaki? Are you from Ceura?"

"Wha-" "Yes, Naruto here was from Ceura, from the eastern clan to be specific." Ezra nudged Naruto

in the ribs while winking at him.

"Is he that powerful? Does he really need seven compulsion spells?" Trace spoke with clear skepticism in her voice.

"Yes he is, and you know what they say, 'Never trust the Ceurans' " A lie, They were the most honorable people on Midcyru.

"If you say so..." Trace continued to stare at Naruto skeptically.

'Enough of this.' Naruto let loose his chakra. The entire lab pulsed with a wave of blue; Naruto himself was covered with swirling Chakra, even those in the castle above felt the sheer power hit them. Both Ezra and Trace were blown off their feet, although the former managed to land back on them.

"Is that good enough for you?"

Trace pulled herself up. "Y-yes, it was alright." She said, clearly shaken, although that was something she would never verbally admit, even under pain of torture.

**I**n the upper halls of the Castle, Jorsin was busy planning for the next engagment against the Godking; in every way, he was out classed by Roygaris in the upcoming battle. The location was The freeze, a collection of territories in the north under his control. While the barbarians who populate The Freeze were uncouth and outlandish, they were ferocious fighters and they were invaluable. This would be the first major battle of this war.

"You look constipated. It would do you well to relax a bit." A voice spoke, knocking Jorsin out of his thoughts.

"Acaelus, shouldn't you be preparing with the others?" Jorsin asked, slightly irritated at his best friend.

"Your generals are more than prepared. Have you seen Trace?" Acaelus asked.

"She is in Ezra's labs, meeting whatever assassin he found to deal with his problem." Jorsin paused and grinned. "Are you going to ask her?"

Acaelus didn't look flustered despite his friends teasing. "Yes, I want this done before the war overtakes everything."

"Well, I'll fully support you, but only if you make me your witness." Jorsin bargained, even though he knew Acaelus would include him; they have after all, been friends since childhood.

"You know you will. Now lets go see Ezra's assassin."

**T**race has met many powerful men in her life. Hell, She was friends with the High King for god's sake. However, none of them made her feel such a primal fear as this Naruto has. Sure, she would be afraid to be on the opposing side of Acaelus' blade or Ezra's magic, while Jorsin could destroy her with both; but this fear she felt was different. In normal cases of fear, the natural human instinct of fight or flight takes over, where the body reacts to your fear by pumping adrenaline. With Naruto, she felt the need to prostate herself before him and submit, in an attempt to appease him. The fact that _he's_ the one with the compulsion spell made her feel even worse.

"How old are you _little_ assassin?" She asked.

"Fifteen, and I'm a Wetboy, not an _assassin._" He spit the word out with disdain.

"Wetboy?" She asked. "What is that? Never mind, sounds stupid." She certainly sounded really snotty.

"Fifteen? That's pretty young, are you sure you have what it takes?" A baritone voice spoke out.

Naruto turned around to see two large men walk into the room. One wore a ridiculous (In Naruto's opinion anyway) bright red robe with gold armor underneath, he stood at 6'1", his face was regal and wise, young enough to show power yet old enough to show experience. Sitting upon his brown hair was a gold crown. This was Naruto's first time seeing High King Jorsin Alkestes.

The other man was shorter than Jorsin, but not by much. He had black hair and he wore sterling silver armor. He looked like a skilled enough man but he didn't quite exude the magical Talent that Ezra, Trace or Jorsin did. His eyes held an innocence that Naruto never thought he would see in a man who held a blade.

Speaking of the blade, that is what attracted Naruto most; it was his first time seeing one of the weapons of this world. It was sheathed in a sturdy looking sheath, unlike those for ninjatos. The concealed blade was also much longer than a standard katana, with it's hilt made in a curved cruciform style with space for two hands. The guard was embroidered with gold and blue accents, it's grip made of a fine blue leather. There was no visible pummel, but that could mean that the hilt acts as its own counter weight, which hinted at the quality of the materials used.

"Why don't you give me a chance to prove myself...or not, doesn't really matter to me." Naruto spoke,

keeping his voice as apathetic as possible.

"Not a bad idea."

"Jorsin!? I need him to kill the hunter!" Ezra said.

"Don't worry." Jorsin waved him off. "This will be a quick test."

"To the north, there is an encampment of Krul."

Krul, Naruto had read, are the soldiers of the Godking, and theoretically, they were invincible. Krul were monsters created from human bones. Demons that Ezra's notes refereed to as "The Strangers" take the bones to use as a medium for their power. While they could be killed, the soul of the demon would always just find a new body to inhabit, and a new body would appear in the form of a dead soldier. So, for every soldier they lost, the Godking had his army replenished.

The Krul followed a hierarchy of thirteen; first came the normal Krul, and they looked like the walking dead, nothing really special about them. They had all the strength and speed humans had, nothing more, although these Krul were very unintelligent. To control thirteen of these, a white Krul called a daemon was summoned, they were faster and stronger but not smarter. Thirteen daemons made a squad, thirteen squads made a platoon, which meant thirteen daemons. To control these, a Bone Lord is needed. A Bone Lord is much more powerful than a daemon, much more intelligent and has the ability to use Talent. This was where things got hard for humans. Any decent mage could handle a Bone lord with some Talent, but Thirteen Bone Lords made a legion, which could only be controlled by a Fiend. A fiend had magic on par with top mages and the strength to go along with it, their intelligence was above the average human. Thirteen Fiends made an army, which was 28,561 Krul. To control an army, an Arcanghul is needed. They were on par with the High King himself and were very intelligent. Thirteen Arcanghuls were controlled by a Night Lord, No one knew how much power a Night Lord held, but in his notes, Ezra made calculations based on the growth of each new level, and he estimated that a Night Lord was nearing the power of a god. How the Godking summoned these monsters, no one knew, but every one hoped that a Night Lord was the end of it.

"This isn't a large encampment, but it has a Bone Lord and in three days, the fiend who controls this Bone Lord will be 'visiting' and I want him dead." Jorsin then lost his serious voice. "But enough of that, introductions are in order." He shoved the man beside him forward.

"This is Acaelus Thorne, my best friend and I am of course Jorsin Alkestes."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, it's good to meet you, I'm sure."

"That's an interesting sword you have." Acaelus finally spoke up.

"It's called a ninjato, it's a short sword... Perfect for accurate killing."

"You don't say...How about we go cross blades?"

Naruto paused for a second, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

"Sure, let's go, but don't blame me if Retribution guts you."

"Retribution? Your sword has a name?" Acaelus looked at his own sword sheathed at his waist "Maybe I should do that too."

**N**aruto and Acaelus stood metres apart, ready to move with the slightest provocation. Jorsin, Ezra and Trace all stood to the side; they were in Jorsin' personal practice chamber.

"The kid doesn't stand a chance, Acaelus is a sword master." Trace said, making sure her voice was loud enough for Naruto to hear.

"You're just biased towards Acaelus, just wait, Naruto might surprise you again." Ezra replied.

"Again? What do you mean?" Jorsin asked.

"Didn't you feel that pulse of Talent while you where upstairs?"

Jorsin's surprise was clear in his face. "That was him!?"

"Yes, Talent won't help him against the hunter though, so this fight with Acaelus might tell us how he would fare."

"Would the two of you shut up! They're starting."

After they had finished sizing each other up, the first to move was Acealus. He charged to Naruto and gave a test swipe. A swipe that Naruto was forced to dodge. 'I can't even parry something like that, it'll damage Retribution.' Acaelus had a strong sword arm, and if Naruto had to guess, odds were that their swords wouldn't meet this entire battle.

"Naruto! Feel free to cut him up a bit, don't worry, I'll heal him." Ezra was giving him permission to win, just not to kill.

With speed, he disappeared from human eyes, it was average jonin, but for people like this, it was more than enough. He appeared behind Acaelus, Retribution's black blade stained red.

Acaelus didn't know what happened, one second he was face to face with the kid, the next he had a large slash running down the unarmored side of his leg. He knew in a straight fight, he couldn't win, 'I need to use my Talent.'

He started gathering up his Talent, enough for a large enough fireball to engulf Naruto, not enough to kill him though.

As the fireball launched, Naruto tried to move out of the way, when he realized that he couldn't move. He looked down an saw sentient arms of Talent holding him in place.

As the Fireball hit, flames erupted around Naruto and his visage disappeared behind red flames.

Acaelus relaxed and sheathed his sword.

"Acaelus! Don't you think that was a little much?" Trace asked. Jorsin on the other hand, knew better.

As Acaelus walked off, Naruto's burning form released a shock wave of chakra and the flames were

dispersed. Naruto stood proudly, not a burn on him; not even his clothes were charred.

"Why are you walking away? You haven't won." Naruto said, with a little arrogance seeping into his tone.

Acaelus turned in surprise. He started unsheathing his sword only to be stopped when Naruto appeared before him, Retribution's blunt side holding his sword in place by impeding the guard. When he looked

closer, he realized that a dagger was at his neck.

"You lose."

"That was hardly honorable." Acaelus was a sore loser, but the smirk on his face told a different story. For him, a new bond was formed today.

"I'm a Wetboy, there is no honor for us." He replied, smirking right back, he could feel a camaraderie with this man.

"What's a wetboy?"

Before Naruto could answer they were interrupted by the sound of clapping. "Impressive, impressive. No wonder Ezra brought you here." Jorsin praised. "But enough of that, Acaelus, don't you have something to do?"

Acaelus looked flustered, almost nervous. He stood up straight, completely sheathed his sword, and walked over to Trace, got down on one knee and looked up at her.

"I planned to do this after I won, but what can I do?" Trace looked on, in shock, but anyone could tell happiness was swelling up inside her. "Trace, I love you. Will you marry me?" He pulled out a ring and presented it to her.

"YES! YES!" She started jumping around, arms flailing. After a minute, she stopped and noticed that every one was staring at her, but she didn't care. Trace jumped into Acaelus' arms crying.

"Yes, you stupid man. Of course I'll marry you." She leaned up, tilted her head, and they shared their first kiss.

Beside Ezra, Naruto looked on curiously. "What are they doing?" He asked, and in the most over dramatic way, Ezra turned around and gaped at Naruto.

"It's called kissing. What exactly were you taught?"

"I know that, moron. What I mean is, why are they doing it here?"

Ezra stared at Naruto for a second before smirking at him.

"What?"

"Your surprisingly innocent." He grinned.

"I'm not innocent, I've killed more people than I care to count." Ezra was starting to piss him off.

" That's not what I meant " He replied in a sing-song voice. 'Ezra the Mad for sure.' Naruto thought.

"Well, anyway." Ezra put his arm over Naruto's shoulder. "Why don't the two of us head to the city and see the locals? We have to get you some clothes that blend in, cause you can't walk around like that."

As Naruto let himself be dragged across the city, Trayethell, he inadvertently began to compare it to Konoha. It was a lot larger, although the buildings looked less sophisticated and the streets were busy and dirty, even in the noble quarters. However, judging by the quality of the buildings, the gap between rich and poor was large.

His new clothes were uncomfortable at best. He outright refused to wear full armor, but at the same time, Ezra wouldn't let him leave the store without blending in. So, in the end, they compromised. His arms were covered in silver armor, ending at the pauldron on the shoulders. He had black boots on, which were then covered by the greaves over his shins. Everything else was of his own choosing. Blue military style clothing with white trimming. The damn woman who helped him pick it out insisted she brush his hair, normally it would be messy, but right now, it was actually fairly neat. In his opinon, this was a decent disguise, all that would be needed would be to cover up his whisker marks with some make up.(Google Tales of Vesperia's Flynn Scifo if you really need to.) However, as soon as he could, he would change back into his more comfortable clothes.

"Naruto! Pay attention." Ezra was pointing at the ground. There lay a woman, whom he had probably knocked into without noticing. Naruto grimaced, what would Kira say if he learned that he was caught off guard, 'He'd probably roll over in his grave, not that he has one.'

"Sorry ma'am. I wasn't paying attention." Naruto offered her his hand and pulled her up. This was when he got a good look at her. Her dark red hair struck out through all the dirt and grime on her face, not that her face was bad to look at, in fact, it was quite beautiful. She wore the drags of a peasant but she still stood with pride. He'd bet his face looked like a fish out of water, 'I can hear Ezra cackling behind me.'

"It's alright young man, it was entirely my fault, I was in a hurry." She smiled at him, and hell, it made him feel good.

"Uh, it's okay, miss..." He needed help, this was _way_ out of his comfort zone, where did Ezra disappear to?

"Kirandria, Kirandria Wyant. Nice to meet you."

"...Naruto Uzumaki." Damn, he screwed up. He gave his real name. It was his first time speaking with a civilian woman, she's probably never even killed before, such innocence made him weak in the knees.

"Why were you in a hurry?"

"I'm meeting someone, but now I'm late." Kirandria replied.

"Don't worry, climb on my back and I'll take you." He ignored her skeptical look. "Trust me, but you'll

have to guide me, I'm new to this land."

Kirandria huffed and pouted like a child. "Alright, but if you touch me in a bad way, you'll be punished."

'Punished? If I touched her in a '_bad way_', she'd be dead. How can she punish me?'

"Alright, if you say so."

She climbed on and wrapped her hands around his neck. Her breasts were pressed against his back, and it made him feel a little hot. "The house is all the way at the end of the block, it's the big white one, you'll know when you see it."

Naruto jumped to the roof rafters and from there, with blinding speed, rushed towards the house the woman described.

As he landed, Kirandria, got off and wobbled away, trying to regain her balance. "How did you go so fast?" She managed to mumble out.

"Magic." The sarcasm meant Naruto was starting to feel more comfortable around her.

"Right, well anyway, We're here." She gestured towards a large white house; it was a decent looking one, not quite a noble's but certainly not a peasant's. The door opened and out came a Magus, a man of average height and build, abundant with Talent; he was probably above the average mage.

Kirandria ran toward him and Naruto felt a pain in his chest as he watched her hug him.

"Covian, this is Naruto, he really helped me out." The man, Covian, looked at Naruto and nodded in thanks.

"Naruto, this is my fiance, Covian Sovari."

Naruto didn't know why, but he felt miserable, but even worse, he felt defeated by a man he had never met before.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?" Shit, this woman was torturing him.

"Sure."

**One Week Later**

Hidden by the shadows, Naruto stalked his deader, A fiend, who called himself Rave. The creature was tall, easily 7', he resembled a human in structure, but where the lesser Krul were akin to the living dead in both appearance and Habits, this fiend had fully formed flesh and acted like a human would.

As he passed by small groups of Krul, he found himself smirking at their stupidity; he was going to kill their commander while they let him through, all the while grunting to themselves. He just ignores the fact that he's invisible to their eyes.

He moved towards the tent where the fiend entered, stood still, closed his eyes and used chakra to enhance his hearing.

"When will we attack?" He heard a deep but garbled voice ask.

"Dawn, tomorrow." This voice sounded clearer, much more human like than the previous one. "The Godking wishes your legion to serve as a distraction, with this platoon leading the charge. Do not fail the Godking, the Masters will be...unamused, if you understand my meaning."

Naruto heard the bones of the other one crack in what he assumed was nervousness.

"Yes, my lord, I will not fail."

A figure walked out of the tent, and it wasn't the fiend Rave. It was a creature who's body completely consisted of bones arranged in a way that vaguely looked like a human's, however, there were obvious differences. Where the hands were suppose to be, there was two large claws that were clearly used for disemboweling his enemies. Protruding from his skull were four sharp horns, two coming from behind both cheek bones and two upon his head. There were no legs that could be seen under the skirt-like armor he wore, instead, pure Talent let him glide above the earth. On his head was a crown of gold accompanied by a gold plated mantle with two shoulder guards, skulls emblazoned upon them. This was an Arcanghul. He was accompanied by four Bone Lords, two on each side. Add to that, the fiend Rave, this was beyond his abilities. He would have to wait it out.

As the Arcanghul passed by the spot Naruto was hiding himself, the creature paused and turned his head right towards him. Naruto's breath would have hitched if he wasn't so experienced. He could see that there were no eyeballs in the sockets, there was Talent leaking out of them like tears instead. He opened his mouth to speak and Talent came out like a man breathing in cold air. However, before he could speak a Bone Lord appeared and Naruto didn't hesitate, he made himself scarce quick.

"...Master...calls.." The Bone Lord spoke.

"Hm, the lord beckons... Time to leave. After all... The High Arcanghul, Lych, lives to serve." He looked at the spot were Naruto was, then turned and left. Concealed in a nearby tent, Naruto thought to himself 'That was intense. The High Arcanghul Lych, I'll remember that name.'

As Rave walked back to his command tent, Naruto came to the conclusion that he would wait until day break, just to be safe.

**J**orsin sat on his throne, standing beside him was Acaelus and across from them, standing in a uniform line, were his most trusted generals. Some were legitimate decorated soldiers, while others were kings under his command. More importantly, they were all close friends.

"Jorsin, where is this magical artifact you told me about?" This was EphraimArikus Daadrul, the young king of Cernia, a lance master and great tactician. A man with a bright future.

"It's in Ezra's possession, he has a surprise for all of you."

"Is that what he's been going on about lately? Wasn't he trying to create something?" Trace asked.

Jorsin sighed, it was suppose to be a surprise. He looked at Acaelus and shook his head, the man was _marrying_ her.

"Yes, Ezra is doing his best to create weapons for us to use against Roygaris Ursuul."

"Do you know what powers these artifacts have?" Asked Oren Razin, a brute of a man, hailing from Fraiku, he was a veteran general who has seen many battles, all seared into his visage throughout the years, but those were scars he wore with pride.

"I've named them the Ka'kari my friend, and trust me when I say, you'll love their power." Ezra surprised everyone as he entered the great hall. Behind him, being carried by Talent, was a small chest, which was brought to rest in front of the six generals.

"Through my insane genius..." He paused for laughs, but the only thing he got was a glare from Trace. "I have created these, just for you. No explanation needed, choose one and have fun!" He opened the chest and stepped back.

In the chest lay six orbs of different sizes and colours, and they all radiated great Talent.

"I call this one!" Oren seized the chance to get the largest of them all. The brown Ka'kari. He activated it by infusing his Talent with it and then it covered his body like a second skin and became stone; this was the Ka'kari of earth.

A women with signature dark Ladeshian skin walked forward, Irenaea Blochwei, the Queen of Ladesh and ally of the Midcyru Empire picked up the much smaller green Ka'kari. She smiled when plants bloomed through the bricks around her; this Ka'kari gave power over plant life.

Next came Corvaer Blackwell, a red mage with the temper to match. He walked over and picked up the Red Ka'kari. Fire burst around him and he smirked. "Of course, the colours are related to their element,

how predictable."

Shrad Marden, leader of the mage school Sho'Cendi in Modia came and claimed the Blue Ka'kari, and predictably, all the waters nearby rushed to him. "Control over liquid? Just imagine, I could drain a man of his blood."

Two Ka'kari remained in the chest, one silver, the other white. It was between Ephraim and Trace. Neither Ka'kari had any corresponding element they could think of. Trace walked forward and picked up the white orb, looking at it curiously. She used her Talent and let the Ka'kari overtake her. The white covered her completely and for a second, all that could be seen was blinding white. After the glow receded, the previously plain woman was gone, in her place was the most beautiful woman any in the room had ever seen. She looked around in question; in her eyes, nothing had changed, no new powers, but once she looked into the eyes of the men in the room, she instantly knew what she gained. The White Ka'kari was the Ka'kari of Glamour and Charm. Acaelus found that he couldn't look away.

Last was the Silver Ka'kari, left for Ephraim He picked it up and activated it. As with Trace, he felt nothing change, but this time, even the physical appearance remained the same. He looked at Ezra questionably.

Ezra sighed. "Alright, I'll use you as a 'demonstration'. Acaelus, give me your sword." After he was handed the great sword, he walked up to Ephraim and gutted him with it. The remaining generals were shocked and alarmed.

"Ezra! Have you gone mad!?" Yelled Irenaea, everyone else looked ready to attack.

"Wait! Wait!" He threw his hands up in surrender, "Just watch."

Ephraim pulled out the blade, disbelief written on his face. Before their eyes, the wound closed instantly.

"Do you all understand now? Not only do they grant powers over elements, but the also make you impervious to that particular element."

"You." He pointed towards Ephraim "Obviously hold power over metals, they won't ever harm you."

"Corvaer, fire can't burn you." That's useful considering most offensive magics are fire based.

"Shrad, you'll never drown." Pretty useful bonus to an already powerful artifact,

"Oren, I can guarantee, buried alive is not the way you're going to die." Semi useful?

"Irenaea, anything from plant life will never hurt you, you'll be immune to poisons and the like." She nodded, that was something she could live with, she was a tactician, so she wouldn't be on the front lines anyway.

"And lastly, Trace, you won't ever be seduced? Not completely sure what the White Ka'kari grants, but I'm sure it'll be useful." Trace wasn't actually listening, she was looking at her self in a mirror.

As the generals were talking amongst themselves about their abilities, Ezra walked up to Jorsin and whispered in his ear. "The last replicate is too unstable to be used, and the original, well, let's say it doesn't _feel_ like being used by me. Maybe you'll have better luck." Jorsin nodded and then he addressed

his generals,

"Go, test out your Ka'kari, incorporate them into your tactics, report to me once you finish." After they had left, he turned to Acaelus and Ezra. "Well, let's go see if I can wield the original."

**N**aruto had waited for what seemed like hours before the presence of the High Arcanghul disappeared, and finally, he could begin his work.

While he had been in hiding, he learned a couple things, one was that Krul ate human flesh, second was if they didn't eat for a prolonged period of time, they would rot and their bodies would crumble to dust. Since there hasn't been any major battles yet, there was no large supply of food in the form of enemy soldiers. So a good portion of the platoon here was starving.

When he walked into the command tent he almost had to cover his nose to block out the smell, but he managed to ignore it. On on side of the tent was a large pile of bones,most likely the left overs of the Fiend's food. He crouched in the corner and surrounded himself with chakra, melting into the shadows.

The Fiend would be walking in soon.

As Rave enter the tent, Naruto noticed that he was flanked by two Daemons, their white skin acting as a beacon in the darkness. According from what he read, they wouldn't be a major problem, if he managed to kill the Fiend first.

He sent his chakra towards his feet to muffle the sound, slowly drew Retribution and crept towards Rave. The fiend's bulky ears twitched as Retribution's edge cut through the air and landed in between the shoulder blades, as it pierced the creature's heart. Pity Naruto didn't know Krul didn't have a heart; their body held together and driven by Talent.

Rave rapidly turned around, ripping Retribution from Naruto's hands; with the blade still protruding from his chest, his Talent wrapped it self around Naruto holding him in place. The Daemons grabbed his shoulders, further restriction his movement. Rave pooled his Talent into his hand, forming a lance of pure Talent and impaled Naruto with it, ironically right in the same spot Naruto stabbed him in. The last thing Naruto saw was it's disgusting face sneering at him.

**N**aruto awoke in what looked like a sewer with pipes in ridiculous positions. It was the visual representative for the seal; all the Kyuubi's chakra syphoned into those pipes and into his reserves.

As he walked forward he was almost blown off his feet by a very familiar chakra.

"**Hello human, this is the first time you've visited in a long time. Miss me?"**

Naruto's hand flew to his forehead and he began massaging his temples. Dealing with the demon was always stressing.

"Am I dead?" Asked Naruto.

"**Dead!?"** Boomed the Kyuubi, **"Death is something you'll never have to deal with, despite your profession. You're immortal, human."**

Naruto's mouth flew open, he tried to speak , but he quickly found that the shock was too great. All he could manage was a slight nod, signalling the demon to continue.

"**I live inside you, did you really think having my chakra wouldn't have any affects on you?"**

Naruto finally recovered and asked, "Is it an immortality like Madara's?"

"**Don't insult me! Yours is a true immortality, you'll recover from any wound, live through the ages and eventually, you won't even be able to die."**

"What do you mean by that? I won't die? I though you said I was immortal."

"**You are, but it takes time to for you body to adjust to your new...status. There is a brief period of resting time before you can 'wake up', however, the more you die the shorter it gets. Eventually, you'll be able to regenerate even a decapitated head in a couple seconds."**

"I see, what do you mean by 'status'?"

"**That's a story for another time, for now, just this once, I send you back right away. You don't want to wake up half eaten, do you?"** The Kyuubi pushed Naruto out of his mind scape using it's chakra.

After it noticed Naruto was gone it smirked and said, **"Maybe I should have mentioned, the more he dies, the more he becomes demonic... No, he didn't need to know thThe conecat."** It giggled, like a woman?

**A**s the Daemons began to walk towards their food, they licked their lips in anticipation. This was a meal their master had personally given them. They weren't ready for the torrent of red power that burned them to ash. As the corpse opened it's eyes to reveal red slitted pupils, the entire camp was unpre pared for what was to follow. As the sounds of death filled the air and the stench of blood tainted the ground, a group of nearby monks saw the sun darken to a blood red, these monks were the Hecatonarhs, believers of the Hundred Gods. To them, this was a sign; a new god had been born. They looked at each other in panic, sat down in a circle and started praying. All of them were mumbling the name Nysos, God of death and blood; their religion had a new god.

Naruto himself wouldn't realize who Nysos was until people centuries later started saying the massacre at the Screaming Winds was his birthplace.

AN: This chapter was hard to write, add to that, is the fact that the second half is largely unedited, I'm unsatisfied. Anyway, Naruto's immortality; right now, it's like C.C from code geass. He'll die, but his body will regenerate until he wakes up a day or so later. Eventually, he'll be like Alucard from hellsing, who has the closest thing to true immortality in anime. The connection between Naruto and Nysos isn't important, but my OCs Kirandria and Covian are, sort of. There's a seventh replicate Ka'kari, what element does it control? Who will get it? I don't know. I'm kidding of course, but seriously, planning chapter by chapter sucks. Right now, I would put Naruto between an Arcanghul and the High Arcanghul, at least, in a Wetboy style fight (assassination.) Head to Head, in an "honourable" honorable fight, he would probably be at a Fiend's level. Without chakra, he definitly would have lost to Acaelus head to head. Anyway, next chapter has Jorsin and his generals in the battle for the freeze, while Naruto tracks the hunter, fun.

Magus = Male mage

Magi = plural Magus

Maja = Female Mage

Magae = plural Maja


End file.
